Dumb Boys
by Nefer Lio
Summary: Jinora likes Kai, but she does not like what he is doing all the time. When she talks to Korra and Asami about her mixed feelings the Avatar realizes there is still a lot in the world that needs fixing. Will she be able to handle the filth benders of the yellow press?
1. The Wheelchair Race

It was a warm sunny day on Air Temple Island as Korra, Kai and Bolin decided to have some fun. The three of them had gathered on top of the steep path that ran downhill towards the dock. Korra sat with a wide grin in a wheelchair and put a pair of aviator shades on.

Because no one else was doing it, Bolin spoke up as the voice of reason: "You really think this is a good idea?" - "What's the worst that could happen", came the quick reply from the Avatar, as she pushed herself forward; the wheelchair started rolling downhill.

The first turn in the road was not much of a problem, she just needed to grab the right wheel to slow it down a bit. When she reached the next turn, she was a lot faster. As she grabbed the other tire, you could almost smell her hands burning, while her chair was leaning over, only rolling on one wheel. She seemed not to care, laughing as she held the balance. After only seconds of this, the wheelchair hit a rock the size of a fruit bowl and stopped - while the Avatar travelled with undiminished speed forward, now flying through the air.

The boys on top of the hill started screaming her name and ran (and flew) to help her. But Korra didn't hit the road - before she could she managed to bend an air mattress to safely land on. Bolin cried out: "Korra? You okay?" The mattress poofed and she landed harshly on the ground.

Pushing herself in a sitting position, she grinned at her friends: "Sure! Who's next?"

The two males just looked at one another with a questioning look, while she seemed to start meditating. A moment after, an air scooter formed itself under her and moved her slowly upwards. That moment Aang probably rolled over in his grave, because the scooter was small, ugly and formed like an egg; additionally Korra rode it with her legs hanging limply down. But she managed to maneuver herself over to her wheelchair. With a small pop she landed in it, just as a voice startled them: "What do you think you are doing?"

The youngsters ducked their heads, trying to vanish. But it was not a mother figure shouting at them. It was Jinora. Well, followed by Asami, but nonetheless, the child did the taking.

"What did father tell you about endangering the Avatar", she probed, hands on her hips. Korra did not like the way this was going at all: "I'm no child and I'm definitely not weak. I can take care of myself." Kai and Bolin nodded in agreement. "Also, it was totally her idea. We just wanted to stop her from going", the older boy said, "right, Kai?" The younger one nodded fiercely.

"Just go clean up", Jinora said, exhausted, "you have kitchen duty." A groan of the two and they walked uphill towards the buildings.

"Are you alright", Asami asked, kneeling next to the Avatar, who looked at her with a deadly stare: "I'm fine!" The black haired woman sighed in frustration, then went to get the wheelchair moving, when Jinora interrupted: "Why are boys just so...dumb?" The other two looked at one another. "What do you mean? Boys are not dumb", said Asami, and looking in the general direction of Bolin and Kai she added, "well, not all of them."

The girl was clearly not satisfied with the answer, so Korra spoke up: "I always thought you LIKED Kai." - "Yes, I do like him", Jinora said, blushing lightly, "I just can't imagine... you know, living with him. Or any man for that matter. It's like having a big child."

'So probably the same as living with the Avatar', Asami thought. Out loud she voiced: "Just wait. In ten years you would be happy to live with someone like Kai."

Jinora thought a moment, then asked naively: "And if not?" - "Then you'll just not be living with some guy", Korra answered, laughing, "there are other options, you know." - "Well, maybe she has to anyway", Asami pondered, "you know she's from a respected family. And her dad is this really important person. It would destroy his reputation."

The Avatar raised an eyebrow at this comment, then asked: "What has Tenzin to do with any of this?" - "Because it would badly reflect on him, if she were to choose an alternative lifestyle", was the sharp reply.

"So I can't just marry some women", Jinora asked, not entirely clear on what her friend meant. Korra, who had just been staring at Asami in shock, shook her head and wheeled over to the girl. Stroking the child's arm, she answered: "Honey, of course you can, if you want to."

"Don't tell her she can", Asami spat, angry at someone, probably Korra. The Avatar just watched her somewhat speechless, so the little one took the opportunity: "So there's a law against it?"

At the same time, Asami answered with "Yes!" while Korra shouted a "No!". The women looked at one another, then repeated the game, the older one shouting "Sure there is!" while the younger one clarified "Of course there isn't!".

Jinora looked from one to the other, confused. Always the mediator, she guessed: "So there are laws in Republic City, but not in the Water Tribes?" The other two looked at here and agreed for once.

There was a small moment of silence, before Korra straightened her back and looked at Asami: "There ARE laws against that in Republic City?" A small, almost embarrassed nod was all she got as an answer.

Korra went back to stroking Jinora's arm. "Don't worry, until you're old enough I will personally make sure that you can marry whoever you want", she told her earnestly. Asami did not want to hear it, she vented her displeasure with pushing the wheelchair uphill.

"Why would you do that? It's unnatural", she explained. The Avatar laughed: "So is bending." The other woman breathed in sharply, so she continued: "You know I'm all about bringing peace and balance. I don't need to agree with the everyone. I don't agree with the Earth Kingdom's intractability, I don't get how the Air Nomads can be so darn spiritual all the time, I don't like the coldness of my people nor the temper of the Fire Nation. But I will fight for everyone of them to be as stubborn, religious, frosty or hotheaded as they please."

Korra took a deep breath, in part to cool down herself, and in part to just inhale oxygen, which she forgot during the rant. Her friend looked as if she was deep in thought. So she continued: "So if you are against two women marrying, just don't marry a woman!" Jinora laughed at that one, while Asami looked shocked and blushed because of such preposterous exclamations.

Being at her wit's end, Korra started rolling her wheelchair herself, mumbling something along the lines of "With that attitude, you won't find a woman anyway!" to which Jinora giggled, again. Asami was left confused and hurt and she would need a long time to come to terms with what the Avatar had told her that day.

A little while later, Pema and Korra had a little talk. The mother of four had sensed that something was wrong with the Avatar, and so she had taken her for a little stroll around the island. While being pushed by her, the younger woman had explained to her all that had happened earlier (minus the wheelchair ride downhill). She ended her story with: "I thought I knew Asami! But the things she said… how could she tell something like that to Jinora?"

Pema needed a moment to collect everything. After a long time she answered softly: "I don't think she was talking to Jinora. She was talking to herself."


	2. RC Weekly Attacks

**Author's note:** I actually wanted the story to be a oneshot, but I kinda got the feeling I should continue. If this is wrong I apologize to you, but you guys were sending mixed signals...

* * *

The Avatar was never one to take something back. So only a few days later she was scheduled to stand before the United Republic Council. Well not so much "stand", since she still could not do that.

After all the problems with only having a president it was decided to have both - an elected president and however appointed representatives of the different nations. In practice, the Council deliberated all the requests of the citizens, giving the president concrete suggestions to sign off on. So as always, President Raiko was nowhere to be seen in the council hall, but the room was full anyways with dotzends of reporters and spectators.

Korra addressed the problem straightforward: "I just learned you still have this law against marrying whoever you like. And I guess it's some relict from former times and not used anymore anyways, so let's just remove all such laws and be done with it." A murmur went through the crowd.

Tenzin and Nukka, the representative of the Southern Water Tribes nodded, while the other three shook their heads. It was Zu Li, the councilwoman for the Fire Nation, who spoke up: "These laws are to protected the sanctity of marriage." The Earth Kingdom representative, Shu, added: "If we lift these, what is next? Should we allow people to marry badgermoles?"

Korra looked at him, shocked and confused: "You want to marry a badgermole?" She always thought she loved animals, especially Naga. But she could not figure out for her life how one would marry one. Or even date one. Naga would not fit well into a fancy restaurant, she would probably eat the table decoration. It eluded the Avatar entirely, how that was the next thing after allowing two loving human beings (who happened to have the same gender) to be together.

While thinking about all of that, she had completely blocked out Shu's enraged rant, but luckily he was not finished yet: "...and what do you Water Tribes know of marriage anyways? As far as I know for you 'marriage' means to hit a woman in the head with a club and drag her unconscious body into your igloo."

"Not unconscious, necessarily", Korra protested, but it was a week protest anyways. "I find that offensive", the Northern Water Tribe representative spoke up, "what you speak of are only the savages from the Southern Water Tribes. We Northerners have wedding ceremonies and respect the sanctity of marriage!"

To bad Korra did not know the meaning of the phrase "to open Pandora's box", else she would have thought that, as Nukka sprung angrily to his feet: "At least the Southern Water Tribes don't have forced arranged marriages! I don't need my parents nor some cleric to tell me who I should love!"

"Just everyone take a deep breath and calm down", it was of course Tenzin's soothing voice, "I think the Avatar's request made one thing clear: We don't have the same perceptions of marriage, so maybe we shouldn't force people by law to abide with any of those."

"So what are you saying", the Northern Water Tribe guy, whose name Korra always forgot, because she had called him Tarrlok Junior in her head, asked. The air bender and chairman of the Council replied calmly: "I'm saying the Southern Water Tribes have already a history of women and men living with one another." A shocked gasp was heard from the people who were not of these tribes. "But we wouldn't call them 'married' here. As we wouldn't with all the other couples of the Southern Water Tribes."

Korra looked up at this: "What are you saying? My parents wouldn't be married in Republic City?" - "Do you know how they got married", her mentor asked, trying to send her a reassuring smile. She nodded, albeit shocked: "They dated some time, then my dad gave her a betrothal necklace and then they had a big wedding feast and moved into a new hut."

The furrowed brows of the councilmen showed clearly, that this was not how it was done in other nations. Tenzin explained it to the Avatar: "You see, for your tribe this is what marriage is about: Living with the one you love. It's similar for the Air Nomads, but we would need some cleric to bless our bond. As would the Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribes. For the Earth Kingdom…" He nodded towards Shu. "...for them the true power lies in paper. So you wouldn't need a cleric, if you didn't wish to, but you'd still need a marriage certificate." He took a deep breath. "So having no one to vouch for the marriage, we wouldn't call Southern Water Tribe couples married."

All of this was a bit much for Korra to take in. After some moments of reconciliation, she asked in a quiet voice: "So couldn't we fix this as well? Everybody should live however they like."

It was Zu Li, who finally saw the momentous relevance of the subject, and spoke calmly and friendly to the younger woman: "Sadly, we can't do this, Avatar Korra. What you describe is anarchy. But I thank you; we will talk about your request and try to find a way to make everyone as free as possible." She left a small pause. "I just hope you know what you are doing with asking us such a thing."

To make it short: Korra did not. Yet.

* * *

"WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS", Korra screamed. Just prior to that she had thrown a copy of the Elemental Times against the wall; the newspaper was now sliding to the ground.

Of course the Avatar had known that her request to the United Republic Council would be made public. But never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that someone could impute base motives based on that. But the reporters of the Times had just done that. In big letters the newspaper reported that Korra had requested to remove some laws just to allow her to get married to some woman.

All the occupants of the living room, which were Bolin and Mako, looked at her shocked. Bolin browsed a magazin himself. Calmly he answered: "If you didn't like the article in the Times, you shouldn't be reading the RC Weekly for a while."

Korra seethed with rage. A small gust brought Bolin's newspaper over to her, where she skipped the articles. Not only did it contain the same garbage the Elemental Times had written, but they also took the freedom to spread some more rumors. As she found the first picture of her and Asami, the magazine lit up. Ash fell to the ground and Bolin sighed frustrated. "Hey! I paid for that!"

Now Korra was utterly horrified. Pressing her hands against her forehead she groaned: "Asami is gonna kill me!" - "I'll kill you for what?" Of course, that was the moment the young woman had chosen to appear.

The Avatar did not even manage to look at her, and Bolin and Mako looked at one another. "Didn't you read the news", the older brother asked. Asami sat down, took an apple from a fruit bowl and bit in: "I don't have the time. Did you forget I'm the CEO of Future Industries?"

"Well, you shouldn't then", Bolin said, helpfully, because this made Asami curious, so she stood up to collect the newspaper Korra had thrown against the wall. Reading the article, she suddenly started to laugh. As she left the room, she put the Times into Korra's lap, clapped her shoulder and said with a big smile: "That's what you get for messing with the natural order of things!"

Then she was gone, leaving a big silence behind.

"That went well", Bolin finally said. Mako went to kneel next to Korras wheelchair and laid his hand over hers. "Don't worry", he told her, "this will blew over. They'll lose interest when they realize you're not dating some girl." The Avatar was still angry, but her face brightened up, little by little. "It's just how the world is. Everyone thinks only of himself. So of course they assume the same of you."

These words made Korra sigh: "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Suddenly, something hit her head hart. Luckily it was just a magazin. She peeled the paper from the back of her head to take a look at, just as Asami approached again, furious.

"What exactly is this", she spat, showing her the picture in this copy of the RC Weekly. The avatar looked at her half frightened, half apologizing: "I'm sorry Asami, I didn't mean to drag you into this."

"But you did", she screamed and started to read, "'The Council would not release any official statement about the Avatar's request, but chairman Tenzin, a close friend of her, said: The Southern Water Tribes have a history of women living with one another. He continued to say he wouldn't call this a marriage.' Why did Tenzin say something like that?!"

"Please calm your horses", Mako said to her, trying to stay serene. The Avatar answered the question: "Tenzin didn't say that to the press, he said that in the Council meeting." For the CEO of Future Industries this seemed to not make a difference, on the contrary: "Why would he say so in the meeting?"

"Because we have", was the honest response, which Korra expanded on as she saw her friend's face falter, "he wasn't talking about me, specifically."

Mako, still kneeling next to the wheelchair, now took Asami's hand in his own as well, trying to get her to calm down. "Everything is going to be fine", he told her, "tomorrow nobody will care what the yellow press said." - "And", Bolin added, dragging the A of the word for seconds, "there is some good in this situation."

"And what might that be", Mako asked, annoyed already because he knew his brother's tone of voice. But even he was not ready for the answer: "Asami, you were always annoyed with the papers printing stories about you and Mako. Now the magazines will finally stop that!"


	3. The Separation

Korra had done a lot of dumb stuff since she became the Avatar (so technically since her birth). But this thing stirred her up for some reason, so she decided to go talk to Asami.

She rammed one or two walls as she wheeled herself over to the other woman's room, which was located not to far from her own in the "girls wing" of Air Temple Island. As she raised her arm she took a deep breath, then knocked. The door swung open, but her friend did not show up, so the rolled inside.

Asami was running around the room, folding clothes and putting them in a suitcase. "What… what are you doing", Korra asked and got a nasty look for that question: "You don't think I will still be living with you, after you spread all these rumors about us."

"I didn't spread-" Korra started, but stopped for a moment, then finished, "I didn't mean to!" Asami sounded bitter: "Korra, this no game anymore. Putting aside that you're fighting for something that's not normal; I'm the CEO of Future Industries. What will the stakeholders do when they read these rumors? My company is at stake, and with it the lives of my staff."

While she was talking, the Avatar had slumped into her chair. "I'm sorry", she stammered meekly. Asami closed her suitcase and moved over to her friend, to hug her. "I know you are", she told her, her wrath had subdued over the earnest remorse, "and you know I love you. I'll come back when the press starts acting normal again. I won't be taking any chances."

And with that, the CEO left the room and a bit later Air Temple Island.

The Avatar was left broken. She wheeled herself over to her room, used some airbending to maneuver herself onto her bed and started crying. And while the first tears were for Asami, they soon were replaced by tears for the employees of Future Industries, and then with ones for all the other people Korra had hurt.

Whenever she tried to help, things took a turn for the worst. Even the very first day in Republic City the people had hated how she helped. And they had hated everything ever since - including the vines and the spirits all around. She did not even follow the approval ratings anymore, ever since they dropped below the five percent threshold.

What exactly was her job anyways? The world did not need the Avatar anymore, that was for sure.

Tenzin hat split the air acolytes into two similar groups. Both had really good fighters as well as newbies, both had old men and little girls. And both of these groups plus their families had been sent to different air temples. The first group was sent to the Western temple under Bumi's control, the other one had Kya as a leader and was sent to the Eastern temple.

Tenzin's siblings were in charge of caring for the basic human needs - food had to be made and the temples had to be renovated. Also the two of them communicated with the leaders of the surrounding nations, to see where the "Air Forces" (as Bumi liked to call them) were needed. In return, all new air benders where send their way.

On Air Temple Island stayed only one family, the one of Aang's youngest son, to hold everything together. Up until now, all of this seemed to work flawlessly. There were no major revolutions. Evidently the world was now a place where balance was held easily.

And that was were Korra came in - she spread chaos whenever she set her mind to do something right.

But now her shenanigans had hurt Asami, who had be a true friend to her. For whatever reason that hurt Korra a lot more than dozens of unknown employees losing their jobs. It was probably for the best if she stopped trying to help altogether. But she did not want to go back on her promise to Jinora, so she vowed that this would be the last time she tried to bring balance to the world. For it's own good.

* * *

On the other side of her door, Tenzin stood a little while later, trying to muster the courage to knock. He failed in the end, letting his hands hang limply next to his body, and instead went to talk to his wife.

"I'm worried for her", he told her as he entered the kitchen, where Pema prepared a meal. Both of them knew he could only really mean one person. "Is she depressed again", his wife asked, worry plain on her face. "I believe so, but actually that's not what I'm worried about." Pema put down the knife she was holding, and turned towards him, a questioning look on her face.

"You know Korra. She's strong. Her friendship with Asami is strong, they'll live. But..." He raised his index finger and made a dramatic pause. "...think about what will happen when the Council objects to her cause." Pema's eyes shoot question marks. "Well, think of what Korra will do when someone were to tell her: 'I forbid you by law from being with a woman.'" - "Then she'll marry a woman", Tenzin's wife answered without hesitation - she knew the girl.

The old air master nodded: "That's exactly what I'm thinking. I fear what her stubbornness will do to her... and to her health." - "So you think the Council will deny her request", Pema said, even though it could have been a question. Tenzin shrugged and started stirring the vegetables in one of the cooking pots, since they had started to get burnt. "We're all just so very different."

Pema sighed deeply, then spoke up: "I actually don't understand why you are backing her up." Tenzin looked surprised: "What do you mean?" - "Well, she's from the Southern Water Tribes, we all know the people there are wildlings and she probably doesn't know any better. But you...?"

"My mother is one of these 'wildlings'", Tenzin said, mildly annoyed, and straightened his back, "and my father was an Air Nomad and taught me all about being one with nature and finding love for everyone no matter what." Pema raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he meant it that way?"

This question made Tenzin realize one thing: His wife was from the Fire Nation. He knew before, of course, but since she had lived with the Air Acolytes for quite a while they never had a problem he deemed to be due to their upbringing. This was the first time. If you were taught right from the cradle that something was bad, it was very hard to impossible to make you feel that this was alright.

"Maybe it's better if I set up the table", he finally said, calm and collected as always. As he moved the plates into the dining room, he realized that the Avatar's request had not only separated the Council - it was quite literally able to separated families.


	4. Her One Task

A loud gong told everyone on the island dinner was ready, and in seconds the dining room filled with the people still left on the middle one of the air temples: The four air bending kids (the older ones of Tenzin plus Kai), Mako, Bolin and Pabu, and of course, Korra. Pema brought her youngest son with her.

The Avatar stubbornly wore a grin, although even the children could tell she had been crying earlier. Tenzin remembered telling her that the first step to overcome fear was to admit it; and he know she did, even though only to a very limited crowd. When she came to the island one year earlier, she had preferred to talk to her polarbeardog, Naga. But know she seemed to talk to either him (if the Avatar stuff troubled her) or Asami for everything else. Sighing he realized that meant he had to comfort her now, since her friend had moved back into her mansion.

While the kids were babbling about their day, the air master thought on how to approach Korra after the meal. She was so boneheaded it would be hard to tell her to her face she had a problem. And she had.

For one: She was eating too little. When confronted she would usually say she was eating snacks, which she did, but not nearly enough to support a growing body that needed to heal.

The second problem was a little less obvious: Her bending was horrible. Sure, she could create a gust of wind, a small flame, bend pebbles or droplets of water, which she always proudly showed off when someone were to ask her about her health. The truth was, there had not been any progress for weeks. If this continued, she would be lucky to live on her own with what little bending she still had.

Because that was the final and most important problem: It became painfully clear the Avatar would never use her legs again. Weeks of Katara's healing on the South Pole and as much time touring the doctors of Republic City had made that obvious.

Tenzin knew, and Korra was aware of that, too, so he had a deep respect for her trying to lift everyone's spirits up by being happy and optimistic. That was the only reason he tolerated wheelchair races, bumper wheelchair rides and wheelchair halfpipes on his island. He just feared the Avatar would someday break from the burden - either sliding into depression or organized crime. With Korra, both of these options seemed equally possible.

"Daddy? Daddy, why are you not listening? Are you always not listening or just now not listening? Are we boring to you", his daughter Ikki blabbed next to him, which brought him back. Stroking her shoulder, he smiled warmly and answered: "I'm sorry, I was just in thought."

As Tenzin looked behind his youngest daughter, he saw Korra leaving, and quickly followed her. "Korra, could you take a walk with me", he asked, holding the chair's handle. She looked at her legs and back to him, smiling crookedly: "A walk? Could I maybe interest you in a ride?"

He took her wheelchair silently, trying to hide the embarrassment he felt. He had to learn to keep his tongue around the girl. But he knew even his father always "forgot" that his friend Toph was blind, which was why she never stopped calling him "twinkletoes" in return.

"Korra, you know I'm 100 percent behind you on your request and I'm proud of you for doing what you think is right", he told her just to see her give an honest smile for once, "but I fear you might be overexercising yourself."

"Overexercise", the Avatar echoed, "it's been months since the fight with Zaheer, and I've been doing nothing! It's about time I do something for a change!"

"I know, but NOW you have time to heal, so you should do it NOW. We don't know when the world will need its Avatar", he told her when they arrived at one of the cliffs on the island. Korra just shook her head and told him: "The world will never need me anymore. Look at me!" She pointed at her legs, but Tenzin did not even needed to look. "I'm a cripple! I can't bend properly! And I can't even talk to the other avatars to give out some of their wisdom. How is this gonna work? Some bad guy going: 'But how can I defeat the Avatar? Oh, I know, I'll just install stairs in my lair!' This is ridiculous. " She took a deep breath, in part to keep herself from crying again. "The only thing I can do is speak up for what I think is right."

Tenzin sighed, her words made his heart break. And he could not even tell her she was wrong, either, because there was a very real possibility she was absolutely right. Even thinking about it made his heartbreak worse.

"I understand", he told her after a while, his voice almost a whisper, "but please seek help if you feel like you'll need it. You know, all here on Air Temple Island and many other people all over the world love you very much."

After Korra's nod none of them said a word as they quietly watched the sun set.

* * *

The same night in Asami's mansion: the young CEO sat in her office over a lot of paper. Her head was already spinning and hurting with her day's work, but she found she needed the distraction more than her rest.

She heard something knock, again and again. At least she thought she did. It was the final straw - she needed to go to bed, now! When she opened the window ajar she saw Korras grinning face and was shocked: "Korra, what the…" Quickly she opened the window, but after that was done she closed the eyes and scolded herself. She was going crazy. She was in the first floor of her mansion, and there was no way Korra could be outside the window.

Slowly she opened the eyes; lo and behold, the Avatar was still there, flying on an air scooter. "Are you crazy", Asami screamed at her, petrified. Korra's grin got even wider: "What's the worst that could happen? I can't break my legs any more."

Asami grabbed the stubborn Avatar's shoulders, trying to pull her into the room. But the only thing she managed to do was pulling her of the air scooter. It was a good thing Korra had good reflexes and a still pretty good upper body strength, else she might not have been able to hold to the window and climb into the room.

"Asami, are you crazy", Korra said in a mocking tone of voice, "are you trying to kill me?" Her friend stood there wide eyed and stuttered an apology. At the same time, Korra got herself up on the table via airbending - there was no way she would crawl around the floor like some animal.

"So what have you been up to", the Avatar asked, looking happily over the papers. Asami closed the window and shrugged, somewhat embarrassed: "Nothing much." That's when Korra noticed something was off. She lifted the plans for a new plane a little and found magazines under them. Finally she recognized that the paper sprawled on the desk, the armchairs and even the floor where newspapers, too.

"Why are you reading this crap", she asked in shock. Asami shrugged again and leaned against the window. "I guess I need to know what the people think of me", she answer very quietly. The Avatar squinted at her in response: "So now you know. May I burn these for you? You know as well as I do, that tomorrow nothing of this will matter." For some reason, this made the CEO really angry.

"You don't know these people! There are people out there that have nothing to all all day except for writing stories about our lives. They imagine what we are doing once we are not in the spotlight. They are fantasizing about how you and Mako fell in love, and in great detail how, when and why you two had your first time." Korra furrowed her brows at this and looked somewhat disgusted, but said nothing. "They're trying to find reason why you two are still together, like: 'She looked at him, she must still be sooo in love.' And then there are other people who imagine the same thing for Mako and me, or for you and me. And then they go really crazy and become furious with one another because one thinks Mako should be with you and another he should be with me."

While Asami had been rampling, Korra had looked through some of the magazines. Now she was skimming the story of how she got to use her legs again… and fell in love with Asami in the progress. "And still they give me less than five percent in the approval ratings", was all she said.

Her friend was shocked that the Avatar was so very calm, and she showed it."I can't believe you care so little", she spat at her and moved herself over to the desk, where she collected the magazines on one pile and her actual work on another.

Korra just laughed again, but this time even Asami in her wrath heard how bitter it sounded. "So what? At least they're still interested in me. Spirits know I'm totally useless as an avatar." - "Don't talk like this", the older woman told her, while laying a hand on her shoulder.

"But it's true." There was a long silence, where neither of them said something.

"Korra, why did you come over anyways", Asami asked her friend after a while, "and how?" - "Oh I borrowed a boat and waterbend. I only needed like 40 minutes to cross the bay", Korra said while making a happy face. This must have been really hard, since just 3 month ago she was racing across the bay to see if she could make it from the island to the mainland in under one minute with her bending.

"And to why I came", she said, smiling brightly and sporting a little blush, "I missed you. I thought you might be up for a girls' night out. But…" She looked over to the clock. "...maybe I was a little to slow for that."

Asami laughed despite everything. She loved how Korra could make her smile even though so much bad stuff had happened to her. "Where's your wheelchair?" - "Outside, in the bushes." And so the CEO rushed out the door and into the garden to fetch the Avatar's chair, so she would not need to sit on her desk the entire evening.

When she came back, Korra was skipping through yet another magazine. Looking up, she questioned: "Asami, can I ask you a question or two to these articles?" - "If you have to."

"So… are you and Mako again…" - "No."

"Are you pregnant..." - "No." - "... with twins?" - "Still no."

"Do you have a secret lover?" - "No."

"You're not plotting to take over the world like your dad?" - "Heck no!"

"Were you abducted by aliens and replaced by a double?" - "What?"

"Are you dating the Avatar?" - "Korra, no!" - "You sure? They're pretty persistence with that one!" - "Korra…!" - "What? They say the Avatar is very pretty…"

And that was it, Asami laughed again so hard her belly was aching and she had to hold it. She helped Korra into the wheelchair and moved her out of the room. "But they're right, the Avatar is very pretty." - "Aha! I knew it! You WERE replaced by a double!"


	5. Morning After

When she woke up, Korra felt absolutely whacked. She yawned and stretched and tried to find the source of the talking which had woken her. Evidently, Asami was speaking in the neighboring room. Based on the phone cable, which was tautened from the socket to the door, someone must have called.

The Avatar glanced around the room and a wave of guilt washed over her. The night before some butler had prepared a nice guest room for her, but she had pleaded with Asami to stay in her room for a bit, and evidently she had fallen asleep during their talking.

While she did not care much for the work that was put into preparing the guest room, she did not like that Asami had evidently felt the need to sleep on the floor, since she had woken up in the giant bed of hers and there was a makeshift bed on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and tried bending the air under the pillows and blankets on the ground. She had already made her friend sleep on the floor, the least she could do was to make the bed.

"Yes, I'll tell her, don't worry. Okay, see you soon!" The last words of Asami were spoken while she entered the room, smiling at her friend.

"What are you telling me", Korra asked while she finished folding the blankets, "oh let me guess. Tenzin is going to kill me for missing the meditation?" - "No, he asked for you to call when you are sleeping over elsewhere", Asami said with still a little smile, but after that her face fell, "they'd been searching the shores of the island for your body."

Within seconds, blood trained from Korras head and a big knot appeared in her throat. The truth was, she had been thinking about it. And the very reason for rejecting the idea was what she deemed to be the reason for her depression: The suffocation on the hands of Zaheer. Her thoughts trailed back to the horrible minutes with the air bend out of her lungs. She could never bring herself to end her live in such a brutal manner.

Deep in thought, she felt the bed move and a hand on her shoulder. "Everything okay", Asami questioned, trying to give her a reassuring smile. Korra tried to force a smile and nodded.

"You know it's kinda weird", the Avatar said quietly, trying to change the subject, but not just quite accomplishing it, "just three month ago Tenzin used to scream at me like five times a day. 'Korra, meditation starts at sunrise!' - 'Korra, you shouldn't use the Avatar state for cheating at games!' - 'Korra, stop burning down our ancient air temple stuff!' Now I could burn down the entire island and he'd probably go: 'Oh Korra! Good to see your firebending is back!'"

It was amazing in it's own kind - Asami, CEO of Future Industries, who was trained to react to almost everything in a diplomatic and calm way, was at loss for words. The problem was: She could understand both sides, and she was actually sure Korra could, too. Tenzin did not want to make her feel worse than she already did, but Korra wanted just to have her old life back as much as possible.

"Do you need to stand before the Council today", she asked, which was the best she could do. The Avatar smirked for a bit, but decided against calling her on the word "stand", and instead said: "If Tenzin didn't say so, then probably no." - "You really think you have a chance with your last request?"

Korra shook her head slowly, as if to spread her gray matter more evenly. "I think in the end they will have to agree with me. Now that I brought the subject up, it's either that or arrest half of the South Pole." Asami's eyes widened in shock: "There are that many people living together with someone of the same gender?"

A sly smiles appeared on the Avatar's lips. "Where do you think I lived when I was there? My parent's home hasn't got room for a wheelchair, so I lived with Katara and Kya." Asami looked at her unnerved: "You know what mean! You aren't dating one of them." - "How do you know?"

The dark haired woman opened her mouth to retort a potentially rude answer, when she saw her friends face and registered: she was not trying to get her on edge, but was trying to help her see the problem with the current laws.

But instead of lingering over the question, she decided now was as good time as ever to talk about the elephant mandrill in the room: "Do you want to get married to some girl?"

The Avatar shrugged: "Sure, I would." - "Would", her friend echoed. "Yes, if the love of my life were to be a girl I would want to marry her. Wouldn't you?"

Asami had a shocked look on her face. Not just because of the question, but because the Avatar had just outsmarted her. Reluctantly, she answered: "You know I'm not comfortable with this sort of thing." - "But could you be happy for me", Korra asked with a worrisome expression.

Even while the question was being asked, Asami had gotten up from the bed and moved the wheelchair next to her friend. Now that it was up in the open, she just sighed and gave Korra a hand: "Let's go get us some breakfast."

* * *

"You should really eat more", Asami stated a while later, while seeing how Korra played with the scrambled eggs on her plate.

"It's just…", the Avatar replied in a sad tone of voice, "you're my best friend, and I can't get you to be supportive of me. What chance do I have at convincing other people?" - "I'm your best friend", Asami countered, determined to not again engross in the other, problematic subject, "I always thought it was Naga?"

Shrugging Korra scratched the back of her neck: "Maybe she is… out of you two, she's the only one to lick my face when I did good." Asami laughed lightly: "You really want me to start doing THAT?" - "No. Actually, could you talk to Naga about her stopping that", Korra said, laughing as well.

And just when the two of them thought the day might still be a good one, the butler came in, putting a hot tea in front of Korra and a coffee and a newspaper next to his boss. Asami took a sip of it, looked on the paper's front page and sprayed the coffee all over the table.

"You've got to be kidding me", the CEO said, her eyes big as saucers and her face even paler than she was anyway. Since she did not seem to share what was troubling her, Korra wheeled around the table to take a look at the paper.

There it was, the first colored photograph she ever saw in the newspaper. It sported her and Asami in a tight embrace. "When did that even happen", was all she could muster in her shock. Asami hit the table so hard the dishes rattled and Korras tea spilled.

She sprung to her feet so fast that her chair toppled over and slid backwards. Then she held the picture next to the nearest window frame and examined it. "Ohhh", the yuan had dropped for the Avatar, as she moved over to her friend, "that's from yesterday, when you tried to throw me from your office window."

Asami did not laugh. She was furious, but probably not with Korra this time, but herself. "Maybe I should have throw you", she said icily, "this image is from me dragging you into the window. But it's cropped to make it look more spectacular. I could have avoided that one easily."

"Sorry", Korra said with a hurt and broken look on her face. The worst part was, she was not even sure how that was her fault. Hearing the other girls heartfelt apology, Asami turned to her, startled as she realized what she had just told her best friend.

"No, no, no", she chanted, kneeling before the wheelchair bound woman, "no, you don't need to be sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not your fault at all." She sighed deeply. "I was just so glad when you came by yesterday I forgot there might have been paparazzi in the bushes."

"Sorry", Korra repeated mechanically. Words started losing their power - the woman knew, if she never made her request to the Council, all of this would not have happened. "You don't get to be sorry", Asami told her sternly, "and you know what? Just for that you're staying with me till this blows over!"


	6. Settling In

"So let me get that straight…" It was Bolin, sitting on Asami's couch trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. "You moved out of the air temple, because you didn't want the press to spread rumors about you two. Then you move Korra in with you. So now you two are all alone in an otherwise empty mansion. And then you let paparazzi photograph you in an intimate position."

"Not the wording I would use, but that's the gist of it", Asami answered with a plain face, "but you got the timeline all scrambled up. Not that anybody cares." - "You know, I actually like the image", it was Korra, who had used the conversation to admire herself in the paper, "you think they'd make me a bigger version of it?"

"I think it's good that you two are coping with the situation so well", this time, it was Mako speaking up, "we all know this will go by. At least when one of you gets married to some nice guy." - "What if I don't want to", Korra looked up from the newspaper with a naive expression on her face, not unlike Jinora some days earlier. That was what shocked everyone except for Asami, who tried to get used to the idea for her friend's sake. "You... don't want to", Bolin asked. The Avatar just shrugged in response: "I don't know, maybe?"

Bolin stared at her for another moment, then punched his brother. Hard. "Way to go! You had to ruin her, didn't you", he spat in a mocking tone of voice. The women laughed, while Mako seemed rather annoyed by this.

"Asami please tell me you still want to get married to a guy", Bolin pleaded, and the CEO just grinned: "We'll see." It was the best she could muster, but it was a big step from "This is not normal and I won't even allow you to speak to me about this subject."

The four of them shared a comfortable laugh.

* * *

The following days Korra settled into living in the big mansion. The days started with eating breakfast with her friend, but after that Asami had to work, so the Avatar had to find stuff to do on her own.

She started training her bending, but being as impatient as she was, she did not do that for long until she was so frustrated she could cry. Then she explored the giant house. The first day she found a library where she read some stories about previous avatars (since she figured - if she could not talk to them, she at least could read from them to take their wisdom in). The second day she got herself into the attic, where dozens of inventions and prototypes lay idle for her to play with.

On the third day she found the pool and remembered that she had never taken a dip in it. While her weak body could not handle the wind and currents of the beaches on Air Temple Island, here she could swim rather well. Even though her "swimming" consistent to a big part of air- and waterbending.

While flowing through the basin like a fish, she felt free. There was no wheelchair and no airscooter holding her up, she was just flowing. She really liked the feeling and after she first found the pool she went to swim a lot more.

Since she was really exhausted whenever she existed the pool, she formed the habit to sleep anywhere after that. Literally "anywhere". It started with the couch, then it was the table (while eating some pie, nonetheless), soon she just slept in her chair whenever she felt like it.

The good part was: In contrary to her depressive episodes, where she also slept a lot, now she had some kind of purpose. And her aching muscles and her improved bending made her self-confidence grow again.

As for Asami: She thought herself lucky no investors had ever mentioned any of the rumors the yellow press had published. Evidently, her customers and readers of tabloid papers where two very different kind of persons.

And the Avatar was a good person to have around - at least if you had a butler to clean up after her. Because, to tell the truth, she was a slob, to impatient to keep even her own room clean. But the things she did made Asami think of her mansion as a big slumber party and not so much of her dad's home, who was still in prison.

For instance, when she had arrived one night late from a gala, someone had put a sandwich and some red gillyflowers on her nightstand, completed with a handscribled note: "I know the food is bad and little at these things, so dig in!" Asami had no other choice as to laugh at this. Especially since she had the suspicion her friend had tried to get her her favorite flowers (which were roses, but for one who lived in ice and snow almost all her live, these gillyflowers were pretty close).

All seemed well and dandy, until the dreadful day arrived.

* * *

"Asami", the Avatar asked on that particular day. Her friend looked up from the newspaper she was reading. "Could you help me with my outfit? I have to go to the Council today." Asami nodded and folded her paper. With a playful smile, she commented: "So today I won't have puddles in the hallway and a half naked sleeping Avatar dripping all over the couch?" Korra stretched confidently: "I guess I could squeeze that in after the meeting." She showed a toothy grin. "Maybe I'm throwing in some drooling as well." - "Korra", Asami's voice sounded annoyed, but she could not hold the act for long, "you always drool when you sleep."

The both of them laughed, then went back to the breakfast. "So what's the news", Korra asked, while pointing towards the newspaper with her head. Asami shrugged: "This is actually good. Now they're thinking you were born as a male, 'Korro'." Korra's jaw fell and when she started to speak, only her mouth moved, but no words came.

Her friend only laughed at this display of utter helplessness: "The evidence is clear: You're strong. And you're living with a woman, me." - "But, but…", Korra stuttered, looking down at her bust, but not being able to bring that into a sentence, "but… how does that even fit in with my request?"

"Korra", Asami replied, trying not to laugh, "you really shouldn't believe everything that is written in the paper!"


	7. The Dreadful Day

"Avatar Korra, with all due respect, we cannot allow you to blackmail the United Republic Council", it was the first sentence of President Raiko, but also the one ringing in Korras head for the longest time. "What do you mean", she questioned and looked over at Tenzin for help. Her master had a look she knew well - exactly like her father when he learned that he could not protect his "little girl" from Zaheer.

"Don't take us for fools", it was Zu Li, the Fire Nation representative, "we know what you've been doing, making your request and moving into your girlfriend's home a day after."

The Avatar was in shock: "Asami's not my girlfriend!" She thought on what she told the other woman while she was learning how to drive and corrected: "Well she is my girlfriend but in the sense of..."

"Enough", it was the Earth Kingdom Representative, "your dirty love life is none of our business." - "So what are you saying? You're denying my request because I'm living with Miss Sato", Korra questioned, this time remembering her manners. She had observed Tenzi facepalming after her last statement, but she was pretty sure it was not because she had referred to her friend by her first name.

"Yes, we wanted to do exactly that. But we decided against it, so the people wouldn't suffer because of your mistakes again", it was President Raiko, not even trying to pretend he did not hate Korra.

"So you're allowing it", Korra beamed with happiness. "Just listen", it was Zu Li, "we will remove all paragraphs against any kind of love between two consenting adults."

"That's great", Korra said (maybe even interrupted), quite happy with the outcome. Zu Li continued: "This does not mean you will be able to get married though. First of we want the Southern Water Tribes to have registered marriages as the other nations." Nukka explained what was going to happen to their tribe: "In practice our town elders will maintain lists over all couples for now."

The Avatar still remained positive: "So? Sounds like a marriage to me." - "Listen up", how many times had she been told this in the ongoing meeting? This time it was President Raiko: "So now there are three groups who can bless a marriage: clerics, marriage registrars, and town elders. We cannot force any of them to bless each and every marriage."

Korra furrowed her brows. She did not like the sound of that. "No, Korra, that's a good thing", it was the first time Tenzin had spoken up, "you know how we Air Nomads cultivate the purity of a marriage. I wouldn't want to have to bless somebody who does not follow Air Nomad tradition." He took a deep breath, checking that Korra was still listening and understanding. "It's the same for all of the other nations."

The young Avatar stared at the Council for a moment, unsure of what to think. They were right. Freedom meant to respect each other's believe, too. So maybe it was all for the best. But she could not help but feel that this legal decision left a bitter aftertaste. After some moments collecting herself, she smiled honestly at the men and woman before her: "I think that's great. Thank you so much!"

It was Tenzin's relieved sigh that could be heard after that. "So, Avatar Korra", President Raiko spoke up, evidently quite pleased that the Avatar was for once not causing trouble, "can we help you with anything else?"

Korra was about to shake her head, when something came to mind: "So what about the Pai Sho rules, shouldn't these be the same for everyone, too?" The Council members frowned as one man.

* * *

Asami also had a rough day. She had to make various telephone calls, and just when she thought she could finally eat lunch she found a big error in her plans and had to redraw everything.

She heard the Avatar come home in the early evening, but she figured it must have gone well, else the other woman would have stormed into her office and would have required to be hugged until she felt better. Not that Asami minded, of course.

A toilet break made Asami realize that Korra had been able to squeeze swimming into her tight schedule; the floor was covered with water making a trail from the pool room to where the Avatar was probably now lying and sleeping.

It was well after dinner when Asami finally had the time to end her work for the day and go talk to her friend. She had to search a bit, since Korra was in her room, the last place where Asami looked for her. In her defence, she could not remember ever finding her friend in her guest room, because it was "just too darn boring in there".

What she was doing now was just weird. The Avatar was packing her things.

"What… what are you doing", Asami questioned, seeing clothes flying from a wardrobe to a suitcase. She catched the following three pieces of clothing and put them back where they belonged.

"What do you mean", Korra asked, a bit taken aback, "my request was approved. The press has been giving you a hard enough time, I should really leave now." A hurt look was all Asami could muster as she placed herself next to the airbending woman on the bed.

"So you want to leave", she repeated, not sure if it would appropriate for a CEO to beg for her friend to stay. Korra sighed, which made all the clothing in the air drop to the ground: "No, I think living with you has really helped me get better." She looked down at her legs, then back up at Asami, grinning.

With a flick of her hand she made a big splash of water fly out of the glas on her nightstand and hover over her hand. A rather harsh movement of her other hand and the water froze, forming a flower. "A rose", Korra told her with her toothy grin that made her look like a beardog puppy. She let the flower gently down into the glass.

"It's beautiful", Asami said amazed, even though she knew it was a gillyflower, again, "so why are you going? You could stay here, the house is big enough."

Korra thought about it. The days with Asami had been really great. It was nice having the freedom to do whatever she liked while still knowing a very loving person was just around the corner, working in her office. And her friend's spirit's had been lifted, too. While she was devastated when the press had released the first rumors, now she was joking about it. She really, really seemed to like having the Avatar around.

There were a million voices in Korras head, screaming and whispering and talking, one was even humming the Nuktuk theme music. With a simple headshake Korra made all these voices stop and just kissed Asami on an impuls. The other woman reacted, albeit in a very unsatisfying way - she slapped the Avatar in the face and scooted away with a shocked expression.

"Korra, really", she gasped, "what's wrong with you? You kissing people on a whim is getting out of hand." Korra sighed and looked at her lap, "I...I'm sorry, I just thought…" Asami rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You know how I feel about this", the CEO said slowly, which made Korra shrug, "I just wanted you to live here…"

Asami stood up, trying to find her calm again: "And why would you use lighting against me anyways?" Korra laughed bitterly, and as she looked up, tears were visible in the corner of her eyes. "I've never been able to bend lighting", she answered truthfully, her head sinking again, "and even if I was, I can barely light a candle, how would I do something so complicated, against you of all people."

There was a long, horrible silence, where neither of them looked at one another. Suddenly, Korras head sprung up. "Wait, you felt the spark, too", she questioned with a twinkling in her eye that was not because of her earlier tears.

Asami crossed her arms before her chest and looked at her friend as if she had just gone crazy. "Can't you remember", Korra asked eerily cheery, "you must have had the same spark with Mako when you first kissed." - "What are you saying", was the cold question from the other party, "Mako would have never used lighting against me!"

"No, no, no", Korra said laughing, "it's the other spark. THE spark. It means you really like me!" Her smile covered her entire face, from one ear to the other. "Just kiss me again, you'll see."

A big gasp was Asami's response. As she looked over the Avatar validating her statement, her face started to get red; in the end she screamed: "I can't believe you tried this plump approach! I'm out of here!" And with that she was gone.

Korra was left dumbfounded and sad, looking at the door. Next to her, the stem of her iceflower had melted enough for the blossom to break of. It shattered into thousand pieces, just as Korra's heart had moments prior.


	8. Returning Feelings

"Well, Korra, she is right. You kissing people is getting out of hand. Did you even think about this for a second? When did you ever kiss someone without hurting somebody? You know what is getting out of hand, too? You thinking people actually like you back."

Korra was lying on her guest bed, to shattered to even cry. She was used to talking to herself, years in isolation at the White Lotus Compound had taught her that. Even though she actually missed Naga, since the polarbeardog always gave her the appearance of not being totally crazy.

"You know where you went wrong? You're the Avatar, you have a responsibility to the world. You're not supposed to love." - "Aang loved Katara." - "Sure, but you're a female. You know what happens to females when they get married? They get pregnant. And then they can't save the world." - "This wouldn't happen with Asami." - "As if you had chosen her for that." - "I didn't chose her at all. She is just so great, I couldn't help myself." - "Yes, she is."

Finally she agreed on something with herself. She closed her eyes for some minutes. The day had drained her: the meeting with the Council mentally, the swimming and bending physically and the fight with Asami emotionally.

When she opened her eyes she did not know if it had been minutes or hours. At least it was still dark. She sat up and stretched her limbs. Suddenly her eyes went wide. The big toe on her left foot had just wiggled. She tried again, but this time nothing happened. She pinched it, and miraculously, she could feel it.

"See that, Korra", she mumbled to herself, still half asleep, "that's karma for you. The one toe you always banged against something when you went to the toilet at night is the one to get its feeling back." She concentrated, trying to get it to move again, but nothing happened. "Or, you could stay positive. Maybe you'll get your legs back one day."

She sighed after a while of failing to wiggle her toe. "Just a dream", she told herself. With a bit of help of bending she moved herself to the headboard of the bed, so she could sit comfortably and stare into the darkness.

Every now and then she would talk to herself, and when she closed her eyes, she could not say if she was sleeping or not.

A sudden "clack" alarmed her, but only so much as that she opened one of of her previously closed eyes. She had always been a morning grouch, and her mood was not getting better from not sleeping at all.

"Are you awake?" Now this voice startled her, since it was not her own: "Asami?" - "Who else would it be?" - "Pabu?"

Asami snickered quietly, then added earnestly: "Korra, I came to say I'm sorry." The Avatar patted the space next to her on the bed. As Asami moved she jokingly promised: "Don't worry, I won't kiss you again."

As she sat, she started rubbing her arm nervously. "Asami, I'm sorry, too", Korra said, trying to hide her embarrassment, but failing. There was a really long pause, and contrary to the comfortable silence between the two usually, now it was thick with embarrassment and anxiety.

"I shouldn't have hit you", Asami finally said, "I was just so confused. And you know how much I like being in charge..." The Avatar nodded, she did not only know, she could totally relate to that, too.

"So, can we go back to being friends", Korra asked, a glimmer of hope in her voice, which soon faded as her friend just stared into the darkness and shrugged.

Another minute went by were neither said a word. It made the Avatar mad, so she decided to do something. "Look, Asami", she said, trying to sound cheery as she lifted her left leg up and put it in her friends lap.

She concentrated hard. Nothing happened. After a while, Asami looked at her questioningly: "What exactly am I supposed to see?" Just as she had the question out, she saw something out of the corner of her eyes. "Did… did your toe just wiggle", she asked, absolutely amazed.

Korra nodded vigorously with a bright smile. The CEO had no control over her own movements at this point - she grabbed her friends arms and pulled her into a big hug. On the brink of crying, she commented: "Do you know what that means? Maybe you will be able to walk again!"

A pained grunt was all she got in return: "Asami? Please? You're hurting my toe…" Indeed she was, the leg (to which the toe was attached) was still in Asami's lap and was bend in an unnatural position due to the hug.

"Sorry, sorry", she quickly apologized as she moved away, "I'm just so happy for you." Korra did not look as happy. "I'd give my legs any day to get our friendship back." The little chuckle escaping from Asami's throat did not help her negative feelings at all.

"Korra, that's not what I was thinking about", she told her, one hand on her friends shoulder, "I was thinking about taking you up on the offer of kissing you again." Korra's face froze in a very silly expression: "Are… are you making fun of me?"

"No, I think you might be right, I do like you", she told her with an unsure smiley, "it's all just so… overwhelming. I don't know what to think anymore. Or what I should feel."

The Avatar blinked: "So kiss me." She tried to think of a good argument, but the best she could come up with was: "Don't worry, it's legal." After some time of nothing happening, she whispered: "So it was a bit hasty to promise not kiss you." - "You're always hasty", Asami said, laughing, "it's like hasty is your middle name."

Korra could not share the laugh, she just waited for something to happen, anything, but her friend was taking her darn time. "So…", she said, looking out of the window, "are you-" This time Asami felt the spark, too, as their lips connected.

* * *

"So let me get that straight…" It was Bolin, sitting on Asami's couch talking to his brother to figure out where he had gone wrong. "You couldn't just date women and be done with it, you had to ruin them for the rest of mankind?"

His Brother had his head in his hands and looked at his two female friends with utter frustration. "Really", he asked simply. Korra sat opposite of the table in her wheelchair, Asami stood next to her, having taken her girlfriend's hand for support.

"But we're telling you in confidence", Asami said, always the diplomat, "please don't spread it. We don't know how this will turn out." - "I do", Korra corrected, just to get a frown from the CEO, who countered: "Again with the magical castle and the cloud eating and the moonlight punch?" - "Don't forget the ice cubes made of stars", came the reply, which made Asami laugh.

"Oh, you're so cute", Bolin said, pressing his hands together in a prayer-like motion. Mako almost gagged: "Just stop it! Korra kissing someone isn't really that big a deal. Did you forget she dated everyone in this room?" In an instant, Korra blushed until she looked like a tomato, while the other two exchanged unidentified glances.

"You're just jealous", Bolin told his brother, hitting him lightly, then he faced the women and cheerfully added: "The third time's the charm, isn't it?" He began to wordlessly count: Himself - one, Mako - two, Asami - three. Her and Korra gave each other a smile, both determined to make it work somehow. Pabu and Bolin just squeaked in excitement.

After a last reassuring squeeze to her girlfriends hand, Asami went around the coffee table to plop on the couch next to Bolin, grinning: "You know, that's not even the best news, yet."

Bolin looked at her surprised, as did the other two. "Did you not hear", Asami questioned happily, "as we speak the United Republic Council is talking about standardised Pai Sho rules! You'll finally get your revenge!"

And with Korra and Asami happy with one another, and Bolin psyched about finally winning a _fair_ Pai Sho game, we will leave our group of friends. Yes, they all lived happily ever after. Well, except for Mako; but really, who could blame him?


End file.
